Kenya Cabinet approves Ksh23.74 billion for pending bill settlements

The Kenyan Cabinet has approved the settlement of 28,726 verified government pending bills totaling Ksh23.74 billion. These payments target claims of Ksh50 million and below, representing 98 per cent of the 29,257 claims recommended for settlement following a review of 115,617 claims valued at Ksh664.8 billion. Some suppliers have reportedly been awaiting payment since 2005.

The National Treasury will oversee the disbursement, with priority given to micro, small, and medium enterprises, specifically those owned by women, youth, and persons with disabilities. Bills exceeding Ksh50 million will be settled progressively.

In addition to debt settlement, the Cabinet approved several health sector projects, including the construction of a 2,000-bed Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital and a 1,000-bed Level Six hospital in Mombasa. Capacity increases were also approved for thirteen Level Five hospitals across various counties.

Concurrently, President William Ruto and various Cabinet Secretaries issued several government appointments to streamline operations. These include the reappointment of Job Chirchir to the Water Services Regulatory Board and Titus Korir to the Kenya Forest Service. Other appointments were made to the NEPAD Kenya Governing Council, the Local Authorities Provident Fund Board of Trustees, the National Government Constituencies Development Fund Board, the Kenya Medical Research Institute Council, and the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority board.